| Traver |
Wed Nov 05, 2003 4:04 pm |
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I was just looking at one of my VW books and happened to notice this picture:
The prototype beetle with no rear window at all! I was wondering if any of you had ever seen one of these in real life or knew anyone who owned/drove one. That would be so cool to see one at Kelly Park or The Classic. |
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| 56_in_714 |
Wed Nov 05, 2003 4:54 pm |
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http://www.pre67vw.co.uk/history/default.asp[url]
It says it was called the V1 Saloon that was made by Daimler-Benz, but it doesnt mention anything else.....good history though. check it out |
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| chipmcluk |
Wed Nov 05, 2003 5:11 pm |
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| I work at Barnes and Noble, and most of the time I read books about VW and Porsche history. I think that one is the VW30. They made a V1 (saloon), V2 (cabrio), and a V3, I'll try and post pics, weird cars.[/img] |
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| chipmcluk |
Wed Nov 05, 2003 5:11 pm |
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| I work at Barnes and Noble, and most of the time I read books about VW and Porsche history. I think that one is the VW30. They made a V1 (saloon), V2 (cabrio), and a V3, I'll try and post pics, weird cars. |
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| chipmcluk |
Wed Nov 05, 2003 5:21 pm |
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http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/122339.jpg
http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/122337.jpg |
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| Lynch's Fabrication |
Wed Nov 05, 2003 5:24 pm |
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| thats hilarious you have topanga as your avatar |
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| Paul Rubenson |
Wed Nov 05, 2003 8:02 pm |
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That photo is a VW30, one of thirty built in 1936-37 for endurance testing. It did have a glass rear window, but it was inside in the firewall dividing the cabin from the engine compartment, which extended up to the roof. The cooling louvers allowed visibility out of the engine compartment. The VW30s were systematically destroyed after the test runs, and none survive. However, Volkswagen recently reproduced one for their museum in Wolfsburg. They also have a reproduction V3, which was the preceeding prototype. The V3 also had an internal glass window and external louvers.
The first VW prototypes to have external glass rear windows were the VW303 and VW38 in 1938. The original idea was for a single curved window, like on the later oval windows, but the design was changed to two flat plate windows to reduce cost.
-Paul |
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| actorboy |
Wed Nov 05, 2003 9:14 pm |
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| I read that they didn't have the technology or tooling to make curved glass yet. That's why there were other makes of cars with split rear windows. |
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| fifty8 |
Thu Nov 06, 2003 10:07 pm |
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Go to the gallery and do a search for VW30. It should pull up numerous pictures of the replica VW recently built for the museum. That one is my favorite VW. I'd love to see HR Giger paint one of these, well if any more were ever built. I know, I'm dreaming.
http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/46459.jpg
this picture shows the view looking in through the front windshield showing the rear window in question.
Kelly
http://www.geocities.com/fruitbat1313 |
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| Traver |
Thu Nov 06, 2003 11:38 pm |
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fruitbat03@yahoo.com wrote: Go to the gallery and do a search for VW30. It should pull up numerous pictures of the replica VW recently built for the museum. That one is my favorite VW. I'd love to see HR Giger paint one of these, well if any more were ever built. I know, I'm dreaming.
http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/46459.jpg
this picture shows the view looking in through the front windshield showing the rear window in question.
Kelly
http://www.geocities.com/fruitbat1313
Oh that's cool! I'm glad I started this thread cause I never knew that you could see out of those louvres like that. |
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| Skim |
Thu Nov 06, 2003 11:43 pm |
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| legend has it that they were all ordered to be destroyed. |
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